Freedom and Perfection
A sunny day in the Videfell capital of Kasheran. A beautiful day. In the dark halls of the royal palace, the tower of which the Triumvirate meet was missing a member. The eight-foot tall woman known as the Indra glanced at her half-horse comrade, the Varuna "Still no word from Agni?" Varuna shook his head "No." Indra grimaced "It seems our plan to keep out of the affairs of the other realms is crashing down. First Agni wants to reclaim a stolen relic far beyond our reach, next we hear of an Akihiro having a secret established base in our realm. What could possibly be next?" Varuna's eyes faltered "We've recieved word that some of our reassignment camps have been getting... liberated. Rather violently. It seems a pair of Soul Reapers have been burning them down, freeing the rebels I have been desperately capturing." Indra took an interest in this "You don't say? Could it be they are declaring war on us? I find no other reason behind doing this." "Actually," murmured a voice from behind the two, "we aren't affiliated with Soul Society." In the black of the tower, stood a man leaning against the shining wall. His expression was amused, but serious, and he wore not the clothing of Soul Reapers, but of humans from the World of the Living. Immediately, Varuna reacted by morphing his right hand into an axe, the left forming into a large shield. He raised his axe-hand to strike down the intruder without hesitation, but was soon stopped by the swift hand of Indra. Her slitted, golden eyes stared transfixed on this new person. He was so... small. And he wore such lenient, simple clothing. This was a Soul Reaper? The people her ancestors told of in their writings? But he said he wasn't affiliated with the Soul Society... Could it be that he was a human? She stared down at him and asked "You do not bear horns thus I can tell you are not a Kadran. I will start with what you are and then you may explain why you are here, how you got here, and if you have any affiliation with a man known as Akihiro." The man would have whistled at the interrogation, but since he was unable to, he merely answered, "I'm admiring the architecture and getting a sense of your civilization, I got here by walking, and I know who Akihiro is, but no. I've never had contact with him." Her eyes narrowed at how vaguely her questions were answered "You got here by walking...? Is this a form of jest for, if so, I am clearly not amused." Varuna kept his gaze trained on the man. He knew that if there was on here, there was bound to be another. There was a twinkle to the man's eyes, "How else would I get here if not on foot? If you mean how did I get inside, I merely walked in the shadows when you were focused on your conversation." She was starting to get impatient. This being was more infuriating then confusion at the market. "I meant how did you get into this realm, bas-Soul Reaper?" The man's eyes managed to hold the amused twinkle even with a serious gaze as well. He caught her lapse as well. "It isn't hard to open a portal." Varuna demanded "Did you have anything to do with the camps being burned down, bas?! Answer honestly or your head will roll-" Indra turned back at him with an imposing stare, telling him to ease up. Varuna understood what this meant. Indra intended to convert this man. The gesture was not lost on the man, and nor was their society. "Your friend is right though, I did have a hand in getting rid of those camps, such horrible places; what's the point in life if you aren't given a choice in what you do?" He knew the consequences of his words; he had stated them before to a now-deceased fellow. Indra corrected "They did have a choice. They were given three choices. They chose what they could accept and comprehend. You robbed them of their opportunity." The man smiled, nodding his confirmation that he had misworded his answer, "I meant every choice. I believe your choice were, be put in a position not of your choosing, be enslaved, or die. But what about other choices like walking away peacefully to be left alone, or to leave the realm? There are much more than a mere three choices. And that is what we gave them." Indra stared sternly at him "Death is the only option that strays away from the code. If one simply cannot serve the code, they cannot be made of use. Thus, their life is meaningless." The man still was all charisma and mildness, even though his anger was boiling him within. "I see... so explain to me, what is the point of life, what makes it worth living?" She explains "Progress. Order. Enlightenment. Without these things, is life not meaningless to you? Those people we're serving their purpose. But you took that purpose away. Now what is left of them?" "But who can decide ones purpose in life better than oneself? Who can be sure how one can increase progress better than oneself? Who can decide ones beliefs, and whether it enlightens them, better than oneself? And who can decide whether one has found true order, which in itself is harmony with the world, better than oneself?" asked the man. "The mind is riddled with complexities and is impeded from true enlightenment by selfishness, greed, and desire. Want and possession can fog the road to perfection. I am Indra, the selector of the paths we Kadran must take in order to fulfill the doctrines of the code to it's harmonic will." "But can one force their beliefs on another? Is harmony gained when it is not found? An outside force can never truly destroy those 'imperfections'. It is only by ones own will that they destroy them. Outside forces can only guide. And that is why you show them options, but they must be all the options, so that you do not turn them against you by making yourself feel like an anchor preventing them from soaring high... and thus they do never find harmony, and thus peace." "I am afraid your logic is not sound with our kind. We believe following the doctrines of the code is soaring high and that steering away from it is an anchor. We are no outside force. Allow me to put it this way: Our society, our way of life as a whole is like a living being. An entity. And like you and I, our bodily functions must operate accordingly so that we may live. Just as so, our society must operate accordingly for it to succeed. If the eyes wish to stop seeing, one goes blind. If ones ears wish to stop hearing, they go deaf. Our body parts cannot choose a different role to play, they can only choose within that role. To accept and succeed, or deny and die." "So this isn't a matter of logic then, this is a matter of beliefs and opinions. Then we have reached an impass. I can tell that no matter how far this conversation goes, neither side will win, and we will simply talk until one of us requires refreshment, and then we shall start again. I don't have the patience for it... and now I shall tell you my choice, and let you decide yours. If you do not get in my way, I shall leave. If you interfere... well, I think this beautiful tower may come crashing down." The man waited for their say, though he knew their answer already. They only ever gave 3 choices. Indra offered "You have the opportunity to convert, you know. Agni is better at offering it then I am, really. I am meant to uphold the code, he is meant to explain why it is the right answer to the question of life. Countless times have men stood on ground, looked up at the sky and asked "What is the meaning of my life? Our code is the meaning. With freedom allows suffering and tragedy through selfishness and anger. Our way offers certainty and order. Do you not think that, if your entire life can have meaning, wouldn't that be enough? Why pursue something for yourself alone instead of share it with the world. Progress is a gift all can enjoy, not just you." She extended a hand down to him. "I offer this to you now, bas-Soul Reaper. Become certain. Become enlightened. This is your opportunity to make a real difference." The man laughed, a bittersweet laugh, "I've been told that there are fix all in the worlds, but the hard truth is, there isn't. There are only paths; directions. Your direction may hold value to some. But to me it is repulsive, it is everything that I despise... Maybe you don't understand. But when everything is certain in life, it becomes boring to me. So even if I could live with not having freedom, I would not be content without some unknown to spice things up. But I digress. My answer is no to your offer. Now back to mine. Allow me to leave as I have asked, or make your choice." Her eyes closed "Disappointing. What do you plan on doing if you leave? Will you continue to stand against our ways, or will you leave this realm, never to return?" The man smiled, "That is yet to be decided." "Hm. How tragic. You're lack of understanding and your unwillingness to embrace a new, better way of life has cost you your own. Varuna, erase this useless creature from my sight, please." Varuna quickly charged past Indra and raised his axe-hand to slice down on the comparabley smaller being. The man smiled and grasped the ax as it came slicing down. He focused his spiritual energy into his hands to keep them from being even scratched, "Let me guess, you're the only one that will be able to put up a fight?" His shield-arm quickly reformed into a spear, the blade of which elongated to pierce the man's head. He ignored the question and pressed on, intent on killing such a stain on the world. As he started to move, the man observed, "A spears weakness is that it has a long sweeping range, but if you get inside their sweep you effectively disarm your foe. Which is why they aren't my preferred weapon." Instantly he had ducked under the ax and had effectively ran into the sweep; allowing him an unhindered strike at his foe with a blade that had appeared from thin air. Out of the corner of his vision, the man faintly noticed Varuna whip one of his tentacle-like tails at him, the tip threatening to either cut or stab him. More swords materialized out of thin air; floating around the man and deflecting the tail as it tried to get close. And closer the man's stab came to piercing Varuna. The man murmured calmly, almost serenely if not for the focused and serious tone his body and voice had entered, "You'll have to try harder." Varuna purposefully charged into the man's blade, impaling himself and slamming the smaller being against the obsidian-like ground. Blood trickled down the wound as he held the man down with one of his hooves pressed onto his stomach. "Like your beliefs, weak and without understanding." The man laughed, "Weak and without understanding huh... then why is it that you're the one that had to sustain injury to even try and injure me? I've been thrown around before, all you did was hype my body full of adrenaline." Channeling a huge amoung of spiritual energy through his body, he flashed out from under his foe, who fumbled awkwardly as his leverage disappeared. "You're a strong fighter, but you seem arrogant to me," said the man as he reappeared a few feet away. "Judgement should not be handed out so quickly, unless you want to die an untimely death. For there is value in being underestimated." Varuna turned to him, his right arm forming into a blade with the left forming back into a shield "It is not underestimation. It is a fact. Your beliefs are inferior. You believe one should do as they please because that is what they want. This I refuse to even attempt comprehending. Putting one's desires over the benefit of the entire group is a selfish and incorrigible way to live, and you should feel ashamed for placing your talents in such a horrible system." At this, he turned and prepared to charge toward his foe, his blade brandished up from to pierce the young man's chest. The man gracefully sidestepped the strike. "But who is to say ones desires cannot be to help benefit the group? It is simply the matter of deciding whether the group is worth it. If the group is not the right way to go for a certain person, should they not find a group that they can get along with and help prosper with better?" Varuna slashed to the side in the direction his opponent had dodged "One must realize when the group's intentions are far greater than any relation between one and another." The man blocked the blow with his blade, "But would it not be better for the one who does not have the best relation with the groups intentions to leave, so that one who does can take their place and not be impeded by them?" Varuna continually swung at him while answering "Our code is non-negotiable. If one cannot relate to it's perfection, they are a doomed existence. An empty body refusing to learn." "Perfection is not of this world," retorted the man as he merely moved his body this way and that to avoid the blows. "And... for me anyways, and for many others I'm sure, perfection is despair. If we cannot improve, and better ourselves, what is the point of living? But as I said, these are philosophy questions, and personal beliefs and opinions. No matter how long we talk, we will only further frustrate each other. I do have a question though. Does your philosophy help yourself in combat?" At this, Varuna stopped sending out his attacks and merely stared down at the man "...I deeply despair if the rest of your race is like you. Perfection is a must for this... chaotic world. Improvement is a justification, helplessness and selfishness is a sin." At this, he dared to do what Indra had believed he wouldn't. One of the Varuna's abilities: to change his size at will. He grew to a towering 15 feet tall over the man and belowed "ENLIGHTENING YOU IS NOT THE DEMAND OF THE CODE, AND YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL!!!!" At this, his right arm morphed into a whip with a blade at the end. He sent it whizzing toward the man. The man dodged the whip with ease, a story dancing in his mind, recalling the tale of David and Goliath, "If you can improve, you are not perfect. But as I said, this is a pointless philosophy talk. Now then... let me let me tell you something. You are much taller than I am; even moreso now, probably stronger then before too, considering otherwise you would collapse under your own weight at this point. But here are some wise words from an old book of my kind. 'Two are better than one: they get a good wage for their labor. If the one falls, the other will lift up his companion. Woe to the solitary man! For if he should fall, he has no one to lift him up.'" As he finished saying that, a petite form, even shorter than the man in comparison to Indra and Varuna, flashed behind the latter and sent a downward kick at his head as he was distracted by the man's words, and his own failed attack; much stronger than any kick should naturally be from someone of that stature. The kick was harder than Varuna could've been prepared for, even had he been aware of the presence of the girl. He fell to his knees and crashed into the ground loudly. Many guards entered to find their beloved and invoking Varuna unconcious on the ground, with the wise and intellectual Indra staring at them in an emotionless state of pity and contempt. "You have bested our finest warrior through deceit and ambush. How... unsurprising." The man shrugged and the girl picked up the conversation, "Its much less bloody this way, one way or another. Would you have preferred him unconscious, or in pieces?" Her eyes faltered and she ignored the question "An accomplice? How many of you are there?" The girl shrugged, though laughing inside at how her question had been ignored, "Just two." Indra demanded "I would suggest you leave immediately. Any other form of retaliation on our people will result in immediate retaliation on yours." The man retorted mildly, "Tried that earlier, remember?" He looked around, "I think I could handle all of your guards, but that would be a pointless waste of life." He proceeded to make for the exit, with the girl following. They only planned on any sort of farewell if someone tried to talk to them more. Indra merely turned to Varuna, thinking to herself "Things are far worse in the other realms than we had predicted. They made absolutely no effort to understand... There is only one solution. Agni was right. The time to act... has come."